Bill, I understand your position, and I find it to be more emotion laden than those you talk about. The fact that they used to be a necessity has nothing to do with the issue. Gun violence is not on the rise. In fact, where the gun laws are the loosest, the violent crime rate is down significantly. I just don't buy into the idea that somehow the changes you recommend would affect the amount of gun CRIME. I reiterate. It isn't the legal gun owners who are perpetrating most of these crimes. Bill, as I have said before. If I thought for one minute, or if anyone could produce any decent, unskewed facts, that your controls would make our country a safer place, I would willingly give up my guns. The simple fact is that it has never been shown to be the case.

And most importantly to me is the fact that by making this some kind of litmus test for political support, has allowed the socially conservative crowd to gain control, which just exacerbates the problems which cause the violence in the first place. Social liberals, and I count myself as one of these, just stuck our nose into this friggin trap and have paid the price since. Pretty silly given the fact that decent middle class folks, who are the ones that vote and many own guns, now will go the other way over this and other issues that really don't amount to a hill of beans. Know why? Because they know a bill of goods when it is presented to them.

Mick